The First Disciples

1As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word,a He was standing by Lake Gennesaret.b, c 2He saw two boats at the edge of the lake;d the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats,e which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.

4When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let downf your nets for a catch.”g

5“Master,”h Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I’ll let down the nets.”i

6When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their netsj began to tear. 7So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord! ”k 9For he and all those with him were amazedlm at the catch of fish they took, 10and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners.

“Don’t be afraid,”n Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people! ”o 11Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.p

A Man Cleansed

12While He was in one of the towns, a man was there who had a serious skin disease all over him.q He saw Jesus, fell facedown, and begged Him: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me •clean.”

13Reaching out His hand, He touched him,r saying, “I am willing; be made clean,” and immediately the disease left him. 14Then He ordered him to tell no one:s “But go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing as a testimony to them.”

15But the newst about Him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.u

The Son of Man Forgives and Heals

17On one of those days while He was teaching, •Pharisees and teachers of the lawv were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. And the Lord’s power to heal was in Him.w 18Just then some men came,x carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before Him. 19Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the mat through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus.

20Seeing their faith He said, “Friend,y your sins are forgiven you.”

21Then the •scribes and the Phariseesz began to think: “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? ”aa

22But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts?ab 23Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24But so you may know that the •Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — He told the paralyzed man, “I tell you: Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

25Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.ac 26Then everyone was astounded, and they were giving glory to God. And they were filled with awead and said, “We have seen incredible things today! ”

The Call of Matthew

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office,ae and He said to him, “Follow Me! ” 28So, leaving everything behind, he got up and began to follow Him.

Dining with Sinners

29Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for Him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were guestsaf with them.ag 30But the Pharisees and their scribesah were complaining to His disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? ”

31Jesus replied to them, “The healthy don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

A Question about Fasting

33Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”ai

34Jesus said to them, “You can’t make the wedding guestsaj fast while the groom is with them, can you? 35But the timeak will comeal when the groom will be taken away from them — then they will fast in those days.”

36He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old. 37And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined. 38But new wine should be put into fresh wineskins.am 39And no one, after drinking old wine, wants new, because he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”an